


I Looked Over it and I Ached

by HeyYoureOutOfShampoo



Category: Doctor Sleep (2019)
Genre: Abduction, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And used as a steam supply, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bottom Dan "Danny" Torrance, Danny Torrance is caught by the True Knot, F/M, Hurt Dan "Danny" Torrance, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Multi, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Porn with Feelings, Threesome - F/M/M, Top Crow Daddy, Top Rose the Hat, and ran off, it doesn't last, literally it just grew plot legs, porn that grew plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:33:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28382526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeyYoureOutOfShampoo/pseuds/HeyYoureOutOfShampoo
Summary: How hard would it have been to keep his head down? To just walk away, and pretend he hadn't heard a thing?For Dan Torrance: Very Hard.Danny makes the… mistake of using the Shine to save the life of a little girl. The consequences echo out like a shockwave, and set the True Knot on a hunt for their biggest catch in a millennia.(This was originally just some good old fashioned porn, but it grew plot and flew away. Takes place ten years before Doctor Sleep.)
Relationships: Crow Daddy/Dan "Danny" Torrance, Crow Daddy/Rose the Hat, Crow Daddy/Rose the Hat/Dan "Danny" Torrance, Rose the Hat/Dan "Danny" Torrance
Comments: 7
Kudos: 30





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:   
>  Welcome to: How many ways can I mess up Doctor Sleep and still end up with a burnt down Overlook Hotel?
> 
> Join me as I attempt to torture and nurture Doc in to a healthy person, while also fucking with Crow and Rose.
> 
> To pre-face, this begins the same night Danny was meant to go bar hopping, and as a consequence(benefit?), he never meets Deenie.

_ Newark, New Jersey. _

Oh shit… what had he done, what had he done, what— what was he supposed to do now?

Daniel Torrance, Doc to his mother— and nothing to the rest of the world— stared down at the body before him.  _ It wasn't my fault, _ he thought,  _ but that doesn't matter… I have to deal with the consequences. _

What else was he supposed to do? Leave a child to die, alone and crying while her parents slept? No… no, he'd been a dumbass, and used  _ it _ . Unlocked his Shine and let it burn through the alcohol in his veins, and now he couldn't  _ put it back. _

He was drawn out of the deep pit in his mind, by the girl he'd 'saved' finally breaking free from the darkness of sleep.  _ Oh god, _ he thought,  _ what do I do now? _

It’s not like he could just—  _ go. _ What if her attackers came back (sans a couple fingers, but with the addition of fractured bones) , what if she couldn’t find her way back home?

“H-hey, kid?” Danny sank onto the dirty ground, pulling the barely conscious girl into his arms. “W-where’s your house, huh? Where do you live?”

The girl— she couldn't have been older than four— didn't answer. Not that he could blame her, Danny had been more than a little numb to the world after his first brush with death. He'd have to use  _ it _ again… just for a second.

"Look at me,”  _ Delilah _ , Tony— No,  _ the Shine _ — whispered, “Delilah. I need you to  **_look_ ** .”

Whatever shock had gripped her, washed away as young Delilah fell into the warm wash of the Shine. Dan felt bad compelling her, he did, but he needed to get her home. And then he needed to get out of there as fast as possible.

Delilah looked around her with an odd joy. She’d probably never felt the bright brush of the shine, and her reaction was one of wonder. As she continued to sway in the warm embrace, the young girl mumbled an address.

After an almost silent cry of victory, Danny scooped Delilah up and ran towards her home. Somehow (though, Dan was almost sure it was the Shine unconsciously affecting people), her parents didn’t question a full grown man, stinking of whiskey, dropping off their barely lucid daughter. No, in fact, they thanked him.

Or at least: they tried to. Danny Torrance, on the other hand, was halfway down the hall and headed towards the nearest exit as soon as the kid left his grip.

He needed to get out of New Jersey, and he needed to get out  _ now. _

* * *

_ 30 minutes before. Atlanta, Georgia. _

Rose the Hat froze at the entrance to the Plaza Theater as a gust of wind threatened to knock her off her feet. It did manage to send her hat tumbling from her head, the beaver felt material almost landing in a puddle before coming to a stop. Her long time partner, Crow Daddy, had gone after the wayward cap.

Returning, as if nothing had happened, Crow found himself holding a hat out to an almost frozen Rose.

“Rosie-?”

“Did you feel it-?” Instead of answering, she practically swarmed Crow’s presence, crystalline blue peering into obsidian black in search of some sort of recognition. But there was nothing.

Crow Daddy had been too focused on the gift he’d found. The one just passed the doors, waiting to be snatched up, and preserved for all of eternity. But, it seemed, Rose wanted nothing to do with it now.

“Feel what, Rose-?” Again he was cut off.

“You didn’t feel all of that…  _ power? _ ” Rose snatched up his hand, dragging Crow away from who would have become Snakebite Andi. If only Dan Torrance had forgotten his conscience for one more night.

“We have a Kraken to catch.”


	2. Production

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose speaks.   
> Danny gets interrupted (a lot).   
> And Crow.   
> Well, he's just Crow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if I missed any tags.   
> Also I made more than one reference to the It films by accident.  
>  Happy hunting?

The local (not so local, since Dan really had no idea where he was) corner store smelled like the worst mix of cleaning product and chili vomit imaginable. Floors of off white linoleum sent harsh rays of fluorescence stabbing into his tired eyes. And the “healthcare” section-.

Danny found himself staring at a wall of tampons. The handheld basket swinging loosely in his grip, two bottles of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey rolling around at the bottom. How he’d gotten there, Danny wasn’t sure. The walk there had been… it wasn’t unpleasant. Or memorable. In fact he was having trouble remembering exactly how he’d gotten here.

Sure, he could put together the frame of the puzzle. Walk from place A to B, grab cart, throw in booze, space out in front of Tampax: Ultra Plus. But he didn’t actually  _ remember _ doing it. Like he’d dropped a main piece of the puzzle onto the floor, and was too tired to go looking.

His eyes felt heavy too. Brain fogged in an unfamiliar non-alcoholic way. The worst part was how his skin buzzed with a weird energy. It left Dan fighting as he tried to wade through the blankness filling him.

Something rang out behind him. Turning his head, Danny winced as the muscle protested. It wasn’t even worth it. What he'd thought of as a warning from Tony, had just been the chime above the store’s door. He hadn’t even seen who entered.

“Well…” Danny flinched back, head snapping in the other direction to find a woman staring him down, “Hi there.”

All too suddenly, Danny felt warm. Like he’d stepped out of a blizzard and straight into a forest fire. His skin was too tight and— _oh_ she wants him to say something back.

“Huh?”

_ Smooth move Ex-lax. _

The strange woman— had he mentioned that she was wearing a tophat— seemed to find it funny enough. Her laugh was light. Bells chiming in a smooth breeze were nothing compared to the grace of her laughter.

"Well, aren't you a fork-tongued serpent?" Why was she teasing him, did she think he was someone else?

Almost dropping his basket- it hung so loosely in his grip, bottles of burning liquor calling to him as they clicked and rolled against each other- Danny shook his head. "N-no, I'm not, uh—."  _ Who you're looking for _ , his mind supplied, but his tongue felt thick and heavy in his mouth.

"Don't sell yourself short, handsome," He stuttered again, ultimately saying nothing while stumbling backwards. When had she started walking towards him? When had  _ he _ started backing away?

Slowly but steadily, he felt himself getting colder. His skin broke out, fields of white hills rising up as they moved further towards— Soda?— towards the wide displays filled with sodas, energy drinks, and the booze Dan had stopped by before.

Danny was about to excuse himself. Make up an excuse about needing to be home, or running late for a thing. He'd started saying something—, or maybe he hadn't. Maybe he just kept staring till his back  _ thunk'd _ against a display case.

Chance of escape effectively gone, Danny's attention snapped back to the woman before him. She'd put her hand on his arm, his bare cold creeps covered arm, and he hadn't even noticed. What was wrong with him?

"My friend, Crow Daddy, spotted you the second we came in. Said you looked a little lost."

Cloudy blue eyes traced over the hand. Her skin wasn't soft, it didn't give the impression of an easy workless life. Instead they were calloused, slightly hardened and wrought by a life of effort. He passed over her hand, sliding up the gentle slope of the stranger's neck to stare into sharp blues. Then Dan remembered that she'd been speaking.

"C-crow?" At the edge of his peripheral, another presence appeared. A man, a goatee softening the sharp edges of a strong jaw, long dark hair shaded by a cap of his own.

'Crow Daddy' didn't say anything. Instead he gave Danny a silent wave, a gentle smile with a hint of _something_ _else_ beneath cropping up as his— was she a wingwoman, a partner, _a threat_ — companion continued, "He also said, you might be in need of a friend or two."

What made him think that? 

_ Maybe it's the fact that you look like a hungover hobo,  _ a voice that sounded strangely like his father's whispered in his ear. He couldn't even stew in his self-loathing as the woman spoke again.

"I'm Rose… the Hat." Her smile was different from Crow's. It revealed pearly white teeth, and the intensity of a killer. For some reason that didn't bother him… Her smile put wrinkles on display, little ones at the edge of her eyes, and it softened her. Pulled him in.

Hands fidgeted absently, curling against the plastic bar of a basket. Picking at the seam of old trousers. Throughout it all, Danny was lost as he gazed upon the couple. Only Rose's ticking eyebrow let him know he'd forgotten something, again.

It took him too long to figure it out, the Irishwoman sliding her hand off of his arm before resting it on her hip.  _ Like his mom did whenever she started to lose patience.  _ "Your name sweetheart?"

The young man blinked a few more times before his neurons decided to fire off.

" _Oh!_ " He made an aborted motion to shake a hand, not getting far enough to choose who got the first shake before tucking his hand under his other arm. "Sorry… sorry, I-I'm Danny."

"Aww, that's—." The fire that now lit Rose's eyes didn't dim as her partner cut her off.

"Cute." The, until now, silent Crow spoke, "Fits him too."

It was the first time he'd heard Crow Daddy speak. His voice was softer than Danny expected. Different from Rose's. Where it felt like she might carry him away, Crow's voice felt more grounding to the younger man… Almost as if, if he listened too long, he'd be dragged under ground.

"Doesn't it?" The shark-like quality of her smile suddenly hit Danny. Maybe it was because Rose had started moving again, closing the gap between them. "I'm sorry we startled you darling."

The near-ginger began to shake his head— trying to say that it was fine— only for Crow to also move forward.

"You look a little peaky." He holds up a basket of curly fries (where did they come from?) while asking, "Want a piece?"

"Oh, no, I'm—." Again he was interrupted.  _ They must have a thing for not letting people speak. _

"Go on dear, it's just a light snack." She snags up a coil, holding it too close for him to grab. Intuition—  _ or something else, _ his mind whispered— told him not to refuse. Leaving Danny with no other choice than to part trembling lips, and trust this stranger to not take advantage of him.

She doesn't. Fingers barely even brush against his lower lip before gently pulling away. They keep feeding him too, Dan not even noticing when Crow's fingers join, or when Rose's don't seem to move away as quickly. It almost feels… Grounding.

Conversation passes over him, Danny seemingly not needed as Crow and Rose parse words. Every once in a while they'll look at him, and an answer will slide passed his loosened lips, but his engagement doesn't go beyond that. They don't make him do more, choosing to let him relax in the constant hum created by the display section while slipping fingers over his lips. 

"Open up." The hum fades, the store's music seeming louder as he puts his full focus on Rose.

When his mouth had opened, and nothing was placed in it, Danny found his tongue poking out gently. Still, nothing touched his lips, causing the young man to huff in frustration.

Then he spotted it. Mischief glinted in the duo's eyes. They were inviting him to play, and Danny really didn't want to say no.

Leaning forward, he opened his mouth wider, tongue pushing out further as he lunged. Lips wrapped around lithe fingers, absently noting the lack of food there, but not caring enough to stop. 

Pulling back with a small  _ pop _ , Danny found Crow's fingers before his mouth. He was  _ actually  _ holding the fry, and didn't perform any slight of hand tricks. For some reason it made Dan feel shy.

"Good boy." The man's praise sent a bloom of heat rushing over Danny's face. It deepened when Crow Daddy held up the empty basket. "Look at that you've finished them all".

The blush went from shy to embarrassed. The bloom turned dark; the tips of his ears colouring like a bad sunburn. "I-I'm so sorry, I—."

"No, no, no,  _ shh _ , it's a good thing,  _ Doc _ ." 

They know that name. He'd never told them but—. Them knowing doesn't scare him like it should. It's soothing to hear, sending a spark of familiarity and something else spinning through his head.

In the end, it's easy enough. Crow Daddy slips a hand between the refrigerator and Danny's back, pressing him forward and towards the door. Rose had taken the chance to grab up his hand, absently setting something on the ground as she ran her fingers over his palm.

"Want to get out of here?"

He doesn't even know who said it, but his answer is immediate. " _ Oh god yes. _ "

The trio leave the corner store without a backwards glance. Danny never even thought to question why he'd never seen a worker behind the large counter. Nor did he think about the strange lack of need. Not the kind that drove him to feed himself, or the occasional feeling he'd get (the one currently fluttering in his stomach) when he wanted sex. But the ever present need to drown himself in liquor and forget the world around him… It was faded. Muted by the hands pressed to his skin.

And within the empty store: a basket of whiskey sat, forgotten on the linoleum floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: I dunno if I make it clear enough, but Rose takes the basket from Danny when she takes his hand. Next chapter will actually be the first chapter I wrote (y'know,,, the Porn?) But if that doesn't take your fancy, I'll post a slight recap at the beginning of the 4th chapter cause uh…Things™️ will happen at the end of 3 that are Not porn.


	3. Author's Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> //I'll delete this as soon as the next chapter is out

_**Hullo**_ , I'm not dead!

I'm sorry that this is just an author's note, however I wanted to update my readers. I am not abandoning this work (or my other fic). My step-dad passed away about two months ago, it was very sudden and like when my father went, left my family scrabbling for balance.

I am the only working person in my house and it is now necessary for me to work longer weeks. Hence the massive pause in writing.

I have two chapters in the works for my doctor sleep fic and one halfway written for my It crossover fic. Hopefully I will be able to complete at least one of each in the next few days.

I do want to thank everyone for their comments. They are absolutely a Shining Star in a very dim sky, and it fills my heart to see them.

Thank you,

Sham.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of making a writer account on twitter (for my fics along with my twitter rp stuff), if you're interested, I suppose let me know?

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Wow Danny, way to beef the whole plot line in one go. No Snakebite Andi, no sensing of Abra coming into her Shine ability, what’s next? No dead Deenie? Well… Look, I’m a sucker for kiddos, and i didn’t want to kill the little guy so uh. Yeah Deenie and the baby live, and we may even see a quick scene of them later down the road.


End file.
